Anti-Defamation League Honors John Weidner Posthumously

The Anti-Defamation League recently honored John Weidner posthumously. During WWII Weidner formed the Dutch-Paris, an underground network responsible for smuggling more than 1,000 Jews and others out of the reach of Nazi forces.

At its annual meeting in February, the Anti-Defamation League will present the Jan Karski “Courage to Care” award to a man credited for saving over 1,000 Jewish men, women, and children, Allied pilots, and political opponents of the Nazis during the Second World War.

The coveted award will go Johan Hendrick (John Henry) Weidner who, at the age of 29, founded Dutch-Paris which became the largest and most successful underground network rescuing people being persecuted for their faith or race. In its heyday, some 300 people participated in the underground which escorted refugees over the Alps to safety in neutral Switzerland or Spain. For his efforts, Weidner became one of the most sought of the underground leaders of France, and for whom the Gestapo offered five million francs for his arrest.

On February 7, 2014, The Anti-Defamation League posted three stories about the award: